Therapy for Military-Veterans

Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)

PE is a treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is found to be very effective in reducing symptoms of PTSD. PE works by exposing you to the source of your fear in a safe environment, helping to decrease avoidance behavior and negative thoughts, so improved functioning happens over time. PE may also be helpful for people who are having problems with general anxiety or phobias. In PE, the therapist creates a safe environment, in which to expose patients to the things they fear and avoid. Through repeated exposures and changing thoughts, they process the trauma and modify cognitions.  

PE is a structured, short-term therapy with homework.  Approx. 10 t0 12 sessions.  PE is supported by VA/DoD CPGs for PTSD. VA PTSD Treatment works:

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

CPT includes CBT and written exposures to find the “stuck points” to relieve the burden of symptoms related to PTSD and related conditions, including depression and anxiety. CPT is a type of CBT that aims to assist individuals who are experiencing persistent distressing thoughts related to a traumatic event.

CPT operates on the premise that the symptoms of PTSD arise from a discrepancy between an individual’s pre-trauma convictions regarding themselves and the world, and the information they acquire after the traumatic event.

Our assistance will involve identifying and resolving any obstacles and cognitive errors you may be facing.

Our approach to resolving these cognitive errors or stuck points involves guiding you to collect evidence supporting and refuting those thoughts.

CPT and PE for PTSD share a similarity in that they both involve confronting distressing memories and thoughts related to a traumatic experience. However, while CPT provides information on PTSD and assists individuals in addressing cognitive errors, PE may not have the same focus on addressing these thinking patterns.

CPT involves assisting you in facing your distressing memories and thoughts related to a traumatic experience.

CPT is short-term, structured therapy.  CPT supported by VA/DoD CPGs for PTSD. 

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Emotional distress – fear, shame, and guilt – can have a long-lasting impact on your sense of identity and quality of life. EMDR helps to neutralize those negative thoughts and feelings so we can resolve emotional trauma. We use talk therapy, EMDR, and other techniques that help people get in touch with their inner selves and to learn to bring nurture to themselves.

How does EMDR work? EMDR elicits an in-depth and revealing discussion about what happened to you. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (bilateral back-and-forth movement of your eyes from left to right) to reset the neural pathways involved in trauma. You’re asked to think about your traumatic experience while being directed to move your eyes back and forth. Once you have recalled unsettling memories, one eye movement is repeated by hand. This alternating stimulation can help with communication in both hemispheres of your brain so that those neural circuits can be put into balance.  This process occurs quickly, often within minutes of each session. EMDR therapy is similar in operation to REM sleep.

We offer EMDR therapy to adults. EMDR can uncover the root causes behind traumatic events and helps you overcome your debilitating effects. We believe EMDR therapy can lead the way toward healing by promoting positive behavioral change.  Imaginal Nurturing is a natural accompaniment to EMDR work and leads to more gentle and easier trauma processing, and being valuable in and of itself.

EMDR is supported by VA/DoD CPGs for PTSD.